


The Paranormal Hunting the Paranormal

by Shane_for_Wax



Category: Ghostbusters (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Gen, Slow Burn, Vampire!Patty, Werewolf!Holtzmann
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-04
Updated: 2016-11-02
Packaged: 2018-08-19 03:30:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8187929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shane_for_Wax/pseuds/Shane_for_Wax
Summary: Werewolf!Holtz and Vampire!Patty. Alternate Universe fully divorced from the main, as in there's no Fourth Cataclysm but Patty does work with the MTA while Holtz is newly arrived in NYC to take care of werewolf pack business. Pack business that involves Patty's vampire clan. Together they work to form an alliance, as New York City should be big enough for vampires and werewolves. Plus, sometimes you have to team up to fight a common enemy.





	1. The Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> Holtz is still an engineer, but uses that knowledge to make anti-vampire weapons and defenses, as well as anti-hunter, instead of ghost traps and proton packs. Instead of hunting ghosts, werewolves and vampires essentially hunt each other. I couldn't decide what Erin and Abby would be but tentatively I have Erin down as a vampire, too. I am completely unsure of Abby though I did have her as a Dwarf. But since I couldn't decide neither show up. Maybe later on.

Doctor Jillian Holtzmann had visited New York City plenty of times in the past, though not usually in such an official capacity. If anything, she was more surprised she had been sent than anyone else was. After all, she was a Runt and put more effort into intelligence than brawn. But she had managed to prove herself time and again as a worthy opponent when sparring and foe when actually fighting. She liked to consider herself to be quite scrappy. Though her skills with technology were what saved her most of the time from the usual scorn other Runts received. 

Holtz had arrived in-state the night before and was currently trying to figure out the subway schedule. She had a lousy sense of direction until she had figured out all the different smells and sounds that were distracting on multiple levels. She sometimes made a joke about how those two senses stifled the one that helped her get from place to place without getting lost. Many of the other pack members could figure out where they were blindfolded, which was yet another thing that set her apart from the other wolves. At least this time a sense of direction was less needed than knowing the train schedule and which rail took you where. Last time she had been in New York she hadn't needed the subway.

"Can I help ya find a line in particular?" a voice broke through the blonde's concentration. Holtz spun around to face the MTA worker and immediately noticed that she outstripped Holtz by about half a foot. Holtz was used to that, though. The second thing she noticed was the slight 'aura' Holtzmann could always pick up from other supernatural creatures. An aura only werewolves seemed capable of picking up thanks to their senses working the way they did. This one told her quite well that this worker was not one of the werewolves in her pack, nor any pack at all. 

_Vampire_ , the thought came to her half a second later. Her first instinct was to back away but that would probably cause an issue so she stood her ground. Instead, she gestured unnecessarily at the giant subway map. 

"Just trying to figure out how to get to Lexington from here," the blonde explained after clearing her throat.

The tall woman, wearing a particularly nice set of silver ( _yikes_ ) earrings, frowned just slightly, as if Holtzmann was a puzzle all of a sudden. The look left as soon as Holtz noticed it, though, and she was content to pretend it had never happened.

"Yeah, sure, no problem. Just get on the train at the third platform- next one will be in about five minutes, get off at the next station and onto the blue line, and the second stop will be Lexington," the worker explained, pointing it out on the map for Holtzmann to follow along.

"Ah, right, of course," Holtzmann said with a nod. "Thank you."

Before the worker could say anything further, Holtzmann walked off to the platform.

Holtzmann couldn't help but look over her shoulder and keep her senses on alert either for the telltale scent of a vampire in case the worker realized the tourist she had just helped was a werewolf or for anything else such as a hunter. In crowded places she was far more vulnerable than in more deserted areas if only because of sensory overload. Luckily for her (and perhaps the worker too), neither happened. Instead she got on the train as instructed. 

The meetup with the New York 'chapter' of her pack was less interesting than meeting a vampire working in a subway station. But it was also important. And gave her an earth-shattering revelation.

"You want me to do _whaaaaat_?" Holtzmann couldn't help asking, causing the other betas and alphas to stare at her outburst, not used to being questioned by Runts. 

"We realize it's not a very palatable option, but as they say the enemy of your enemy..." the alpha male began. 

"Yeah, but this is vampires we're talking about here. I'd have an easier time working with werecats," the blonde couldn't help to interrupt. 

"Be that as it may, alliances of this sort have been done in the past."

"Yeah, I know. But... I just... allying with vampires has always been a bad decision as they tend to recant their pledges after the common enemy is dispatched."

"In this case, it is more than just allying against a common enemy. New York City should be big enough for all of us to get along and we can't afford another war. We are still recovering from the one after the humans' Second World War."

Jillian Holtzmann really, truly, did not need a history lesson. She was _there_ during that vampires versus werewolves war that had sprung up in the 50s. Her expression must have changed to something close to annoyance because the alpha was staring at her with a frown. 

"I get it, it's super duper important. I'll do it-" _not like I have a choice_ "-but why it has to be me nobody has said." 

"You keep telling the pack you want more responsibility, so here it is. The fate of this sub-pack is in your paws," the man reminded her, a step away from chiding. 

A snort escaped the engineer. That reaction caused the other four wolves- two alphas and two betas- to all frown in unison. 

"Oh come on. Really? It's- y'know what nevermind. I'm just gonna go and do some homework on the vampires of New York," Holtz said, frustrated by the lack of sense of humor. She offered a two-fingered lazy salute before turning and striding off, 'accidentally' leaving out the part where she had already met one of them. If only because she wasn't sure about the feelings she was belatedly trying to sift through when it came to the tall subway worker. If the nameless attendant was in any kind of position of power in her clan, hopefully she would be as helpful as she had been at the station. 

Either way, Holtz was looking forward to doing a little more reconnaissance when it came to the clan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some Things about my version of werewolves/vampires:
> 
> Werewolves operate with alphas, betas, thetas, and omegas. Alphas and betas are the leaders, thetas and omegas are the grunt work and outnumber the alphas and betas by at least 2:1. Wolves also have 3 forms: bipedal wolf, Anubis, and four-legged can pass for a real wolf. Anubis form is somewhat like the bipedal wolf but looks a lot more like the Egyptian god Anubis where fur is concerned as well as head shape in general. Only alphas can access the Anubis form. Runts, usually the smallest of their pack, basically exist outside of the alpha/beta/theta/omega classing. But for all intents and purposes Holtz is a beta. Betas can become alphas through a number of means that also aren't necessary to know for the purposes of the fic.
> 
> Vampires have a very complex hierarchy that I can't really get into here. For the purposes of this fic it isn't necessary to know beyond what was already made mention in the fic itself. They can go into the sun for short amounts of time, the older a vampire the longer they can stay out in the sun (though it is always ill advised to do so if not necessary). Vampires can subsist on animal blood but prefer human and they tend to have a number of 'servants' that are basically glorified blood bags but are treated very well by the vampire that employs them. It is always a choice to be bitten, as well, unless it is a rogue vampire who doesn't care about rules, laws, and decorum.


	2. The Setup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Holtz decides that she should act on her feelings where Patty is concerned. Even though it is literally unheard of for a vampire to date a werewolf, even if the former doesn't know the latter is one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Ghostbusters Blu-Ray release day!

Holtzmann wasn't sure if she liked the city or not. Sure, there was a lot to see and do but there was almost too much. At least for someone like her, who was used to smaller territory and knowing where everything was within a couple of days. 

At least the crowds shielded her movements for the most part, allowing her to go past the MTA worker again and again without being noticed. Some of her visits she caught sight of the tall woman talking to others, some of them commuters others distinctly not, like Holtz herself. It was the latter that Holtzmann was most interested in. With her senses she managed to catch snippets of conversation here and there. Nothing too helpful, really, except when it was brought up that the vampires knew a werewolf from out of town was in New York. Holtz would have been concerned if she didn't know news traveled fast and or that they didn't know it was the small blonde they were talking about. 

Eventually, Holtzmann allowed herself to be seen a couple days later, a swagger in her step and a cheerful, almost flirty grin on her face. She waved to the darker woman before approaching. 

"Well, hey there. Vacation been going pretty well then?" the worker greeted with a smile. Her necklace that day literally had her name on it. The wolf made note of it quickly. 

"Very good, thank you, Patty," Holtzmann said, grin widening that much more. She had learned a long time ago that sometimes being over the top was better than hiding. "Name's Holtzmann, Doctor Holtzmann." Too much? Maybe.

"What, like James Bond but first name 'Doctor'?" Patty asked, smile matching Holtzmann's. 

"That is top secret," Holtzmann said in a conspiratorial whisper, even leaning in a little for effect. 

Truth be told, she usually used an alias. But in such a big city, who would go and Google search her name? Besides, it was either that or take a page from Doctor Who and quite honestly she had been around far longer.

"Alright, _Doctor_ Holtzmann. How can I help you today?"

For a split second, Holtzmann thought she saw something in Patty's face change, a subtle shimmer much like a fish's scales in the water. The blonde brushed it away as just mild paranoia. She was after all speaking-- even flirting-- with a _vampire_ of all beings.

 _C'mon, Holtz, just ask. It's your best bet at this point,_ the wolf argued with herself. She felt guilty about using Patty, though. And about lying about herself through omission. Even as she was thinking about it, a hand had slipped into a pants pocket. She opened her mouth, closed it, and then shifted her weight. 

"I, uh. I know y'probably prefer locals but..." Holtzmann began, cursing the fear of taking too long to speak and thus looking weird. "Maybe you'd like to go somewhere tonight? To eat, I mean. Food." A mental facepalm.

"Food, huh? As opposed to not-food?" 

Holtzmann certainly wasn't going to be the one to point out one of them subsisted on blood, the other on raw meat, the latter of which was debated as to being 'proper' food and the former had no such controversy it just simply was accepted as 'not sustenance'. And she definitely wasn't going to point out the other part of her stumble while on the subject of blood: preferring locals.

"As opposed to... yes," Holtzmann finally said, feeling herself blush despite herself. To her relief, though, Patty was smiling. 

"It'll have to be a little late, I don't get off until eight tonight."

Holtzmann's smile returned. "That's _perfect_ , I love late dinners."

Whatever Holtzmann had been expecting as a reaction, it wasn't the genuine amused laughter that left the taller woman. It did allow her to relax a bit more, while upping the guilt meter a little too. 

"Then it's a date. I'm sure my mother will be thrilled to know I'm having dinner with a doctor."

"...Oh, but I'm not--"

"A medical doctor? I know. She won't know the difference."

Holtzmann blinked a moment before letting laughter bubble up. That was fair enough.

"So should I pick you up here or...?" Holtzmann plowed ahead with her plan. The tracker she had in her pocket almost seemed to be giving off heat and she illogically started to be concerned that Patty could tell what Holtzmann was keeping from her. 

"Oh, hell no. Make it around thirty after eight. I need to change out of this barely above minimum wage uniform. Here," Patty said, pulling out her cell phone. Holtzmann pulled out her own. Without exchanging any instructions, they seamlessly swapped devices where they proceeded to enter their numbers into the other's phone. Patty also put her address in the notes before handing the phone back in exchange for her own. Holtzmann looked down at the information and smiled to herself before putting the phone away with a mental note to find the address in google maps later.

"Can't say I've ever been to the Bronx," the blonde admitted.

"Don't worry 'bout it, it's easy enough to navigate with GPS," Patty reassured her. The smaller woman had to hope that was true. She would probably head out an hour early just in case. Hell, if she was lucky she might even be able to just follow Patty's scent until Holtzmann could place the tracker.

"Well, if it isn't I have your number in case I need directions. Again," Holtzman couldn't help joking with a wink. That earned her another laugh before a nod of agreement.

"That is true. I have to get back to it, though, unfortunately," Patty said, pointing over her shoulder at her booth.

"Say no more. I will see you tonight, pretty lady." 

If Patty had had proper blood circulation, Holtzmann wondered if she would have blushed. As it was she earned a smile instead before being given a playful 'shoo' gesture. Holtzmann dutifully took her leave after an exaggerated bow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to wait for this to break 1k words (it's just shy of it by literally 4 words but who's counting) but the next chapter will be quite long to make up for it I promise! Because date night!


	3. The Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As promised, the date between werewolf and vampire. Also as promised, quite long to make up for the short chapter previously.

Holtzmann had done some pretty heavy homework since leaving the subway station, having more than four hours to kill until half after eight that night. 

She not only knew where Patty lived, but knew how much time she needed to get there on time, giving herself ten minutes of wiggle room too just in case. Normally she would have scouted the place out before the 'target' was meant to be home but she was so unfamiliar with the area and alone not to mention a Runt that she didn't want to chance any of Patty's neighbors noticing. Call her paranoid because she was on some level. 

So instead she used the time she would have set aside for scouting to find something to wear. She rarely put a lot of thought into her wardrobe but if there was a time to put in effort it was then. She hadn't brought along everything of course, just enough that she could have at least a week's worth of different outfits.

She eventually settled on a pair of black slacks, an off white shirt, and a red vest with pockets outlined in white. The finishing touch came in the form of a pair of combat boots that definitely didn't go with the slacks but she never once cared about that. Her sense of style had always been her own unique expression. She also grabbed a pair of gloves as a just in case gesture to protect from any possible contact with silver or any of the herbs that could cause breakouts of hives at best and a near anaphylactic shock (leading to death) at worst. She had gotten very good at explaining away any possible need of pulling them on even in the middle of summer.

At a quarter til, she left the brownstone that belonged to the pack branch from New York. She ended up taking the subway partway then walked the rest of the way if only because she felt a little vulnerable in the subway and liked the chance to get to know the streets and all its scents and sights and sounds. Especially in case of needing to flee. 

She arrived at her destination with about ten minutes to spare, the exact amount of wiggle room she had given herself.

The neighborhood was rather quiet, with just a few kids playing basketball thanks to a cluster of street lamps causing most of the noise. The sun had set two hours previous. Though for Holtzmann, the area was as bright as an overcast day.

As she moved closer to the apartments she felt eyes on her but refused to look around outside of her peripheral vision. She told herself it was simply because no one recognized her combined with the fact she was oddly dressed according to most people. But to her there was different then there was badly clashing. She never badly clashed; like wearing lime green with lemon yellow. 

Clearing her throat despite herself she hit the buzzer for Patty's apartment. 

"Hey baby, I will be right down!" Patty's voice came from the small speaker. Holtzmann couldn't help but raise both brows slightly at the term of endearment before the corners of her mouth twitched up in a half smile.

"No problem, I'm early anyways," Holtz replied pleasantly before shifting to press her back to the wall of the building, allowing her to look around with abandon as most people were wont to do when waiting. The kids had been joined by a couple of adults, most likely for safety's sake as it was dark and getting later in the night.

"Hey, how ya doin'?" she greeted someone going past the apartment porch. She only got a nod in response and wondered if that was what Patty put up with too. She supposed a nod was better than nothing, though. Sometimes she was just flat out ignored.

It wasn't much longer before the door opened, causing Holtzmann to straighten up then take a couple paces back to give Patty room to exit the apartment building. 

Holtzmann couldn't help the smile when she caught sight of the blue pants and a white shirt that was covered in rhinestone designs, mostly geometric shapes. Together they looked like the American flag but Holtzmann didn't mind or mention it. Instead she rocked back and forth on the heels of her boots.

"You look great," she said finally after deliberating a moment.

"Well thank you! I'm loving that vest, girl," Patty replied.

Almost subconsciously, Holtz smoothed both hands down the front of it, a slight almost shy smile on her face. "Thanks, it's one of my favorites." As if she would wear clothes she didn't actually like. Ah well, chalk up another sentence that didn't come out quite right while around Patty Tolan.

"So where are we going for food?" Patty asked, a teasing lilt to her voice. Holtzmann went pink slightly from the question.

"I... well. There's a pretty great steakhouse apparently a few blocks away? You ever been?" There was no way Holtzmann would have been able to go to any of the various vegetarian restaurants that had popped up over the past couple of decades or so and she doubted Patty could either.

"What, y'mean Tonyrama's?"

" _Tonyrama's_ that's the one, yeah!" She remembered liking the sound of the name.

"It's kind of an expensive place..." Patty began slowly as she started walking down the street. Catching a cab was out of the question especially at the rate and how far they would actually be going it wasn't much of a hike at all. And given Patty sat most of her shifts for the MTA, she always loved a chance to literally stretch her legs. Holtzmann's shorter legs had to take two steps for every one of Patty's but she refused to say anything about it. She could keep up so it didn't warrant anything being said. 

"My company gave me a trip expenses card, not to worry," Holtzmann said, maybe a little too confident. And a white lie given there wasn't really a company other than a shell one.

"Aren't company expense cards supposed to be used for _business_ expenses?" Patty asked, glancing sidelong at Holtz as they walked, going past the teenagers who had been playing basketball but were now simply hanging around with the adults.

"Who says it isn't? My company could be a rival steakhouse," Holtzmann said. Patty just gave her a deadpan stare in return, causing the blonde to grin.

"Whatever you say, Holtzy, but don't you go blamin' any shit on me." 

"Aww, c'mon, Pats! Why would I do that to you?" 

Patty gave Holtzmann another of her 'looks' which just made Holtzmann laugh. 

It took them around a quarter of an hour for them to get there, and when they did Holtzmann rushed ahead so she could hold the door open for the taller woman.

"And they say chivalry is dead."

It took everything she had not to blab she knew Patty's 'secret'. Instead...

"Does it count as chivalry if I'm not a dude?"

"Hell if I know. Hi! Table for two please."

Blue eyes watched the hostess grab a couple of menus before leading the two women to a table in a back corner, which was perfect as far as Holtzmann was concerned.

"Your waitress will be by shortly. Can I get you anything to drink in the meantime?"

"Just water for me, thanks."

Holtzmann hesitated before smiling.

"I'll have a Strongbow, please," she said finally after taking a cursory glance at the drink options. She kept her smile on her face, waiting for the inevitable ID check. But it never came. She was almost disappointed. Instead she shrugged slightly. "Sometimes you win the age test."

"Maybe she just forgot," Patty said without a single ounce of a patronizing tone. 

"Awww, thanks Pattycakes! I've accepted it sometimes I don't get carded." Usually Holtzmann often found herself worried when she had to present ID thanks to how her IDs were never completely legal. Hazard of having a long lifespan. But that long lifespan also allowed her to get _very_ good at faking ID cards.

"I think that's the first time I've been called Pattycakes since I left grade school," Patty said, amused. Holtzmann knew that was a lie but obviously let it pass.

"Would you prefer something else?" Holtzmann asked seriously. 

"No, no, I like it." 

Patty looked ready to say something else but their drinks came. Holtzmann seized her drink and took a healthy sip. The cider was absolutely perfect, which was a good thing. Sometimes it tasted too much like apple flavored water. Given it was an import, she hated paying imported alcohol rates for something that seemed so watered down. 

"So what kind of doctor are you?"

That time, Holtzmann was about to answer but was interrupted by the arrival of their waitress. They both wound up ordering the same thing, with Holtzmann's a little more rarer than Patty's. Holtzmann had seen vampires eat a variety of things before but never a medium well done steak, which Patty had ordered. She had to assume that was to hide what she actually was.

She took another sip, watched the waitress walk away, then smiled.

"Nuclear."

"A nuclear doctor?" Patty seemed dubious. 

"Nuclear engineering. Rocket science. Computing. I have a number of doctorates. But most of my work is in nuclear engineering. Even had some time spent at CERN."

"Really? Why just some time?" unlike a lot of people, Patty actually seemed genuinely interested. It was a nice change given Holtzmann rarely had anyone to talk to about her experiences. Hell, maybe she shouldn't actually be talking about these things with Patty, as it narrowed the parameters of a search for her by quite a bit. A casual look wouldn't cause any suspicion, but once you dug deep enough things started looking a little hinky. But Holtzmann had enough connections that her doctorates were legitimate from legitimate institutions. It was just a matter of dates and the like. She was still working on a program that would allow people like her to just 'refresh' their lives every forty to sixty years or so. It depended on preference and the age of the werewolf in question. She was even thinking about making a test run of trying out a completely different life; maybe she would try being a pilot. Either way she wasn't a secret agent, she didn't have an entire false backstory to be used in times of dating. And honestly, if Patty weren't a vampire she really would have liked seeing Patty romantically without any ulterior motives.

"There was a minor issue," she replied with a blithe smile. "He came out of his coma before I came here on my business trip. For, like, all of five minutes. Something about football season I think."

Patty's face showed she couldn't figure out if Holtzmann was joking or not. Holtzmann let Patty sit in suspense for another half a minute before giving a smile. 

"Alright, so it wasn't minor. But he has been out of the coma for six months now. Last I heard he was the star student at physical therapy. But I'm not allowed within fifty miles of CERN anymore." That time, Holtzmann was actually telling the entire truth. "I didn't mean to do it and I told him he was too close but men don't listen to anything I say."

"I hear that. Preaching to the choir there," Patty said with an understanding nod. 

"What about you? Always wanted to be working for the MTA?" Holtzmann asked after another sip of her cider. 

"Hell naw, of course not. I have an almost completed bachelor's degree in history. I hope to finish it this year. Working for the MTA gives me a lot of time to sit and read." 

Holtzmann leaned forward a little with interest then propped her head on a hand. "Go on. Dazzle me with some historical trivia!" 

Patty looked taken aback, as if nobody ever asked her such a thing before, as if nobody took an actual interest in her and what she liked. In fact, if Holtzmann had to guess she would say Patty might think she was being played. All she was really doing was returning the earlier favor. 

"No, seriously. You have my full attention." She hoped the encouragement would not further the suspicion. Holtzmann experienced disinterest far too often to miss the chance to give someone else what she was constantly wishing for. 

"New York has 722 miles of subway track. Many miles are no longer used or accessible, same with stations. Hell, I've been waiting to be blind sided by a closing warning for Seward. Grand Central Terminal of course is still considered Grand Central Station by most even though it hasn't been technically called that since the turn of the last century." A time that Holtzmann suspected they both were alive for. 

Holtzmann's smile had widened that much more, picking up the change in tone that told her how happy Patty was to talk about something so near and dear to her heart, and how happy she was to even be asked in the first place. She was sure that if Patty had circulation her heart (Holtz was aware of the irony) would have started beating more and her eyes dilated from excitement.

"Early 1900s right? And that's why we have the saying 'busier than Grand Central Station' right?" Holtzmann couldn't help asking after casting about for anything she might have heard about New York's system history.

"Guess that wasn't very random trivia, huh?"

"Oh, but it was. 722 miles? I would never have guessed it was that much. Means I haven't even seen ten percent. But, I mean... not hard cause I don't use the rail a lot, it's kind of intimidating."

"Not the first one to say so. You aren't missing much really. Hell, I've probably only personally seen half of it myself."

Holtzmann couldn't help the little half-smile that formed on her face before taking a long sip of her cider.

Again, Patty seemed ready to say something but the waitress picked that time to bring them their food. Holtzmann tilted her head when she noticed the steaks had been accidentally swapped, the waitress had disappeared the moment the plates had settled on the table so she had to take things into her own hands.

"Oh, I have yours," the blonde said, picking up the plate in front of her and holding it up and over towards the other woman. Patty lifted part of the steak on the plate that had been sat down in front of her, blinked at the juices that accumulated, before nodding and taking the plate offered while handing off her own. Holtzmann cut into the steak on the new plate and grinned when the oh so good and familiar scent wafted into the air and she caught sight of the juices often mistaken for blood.

"So long as we'e doing random trivia about things we like... interesting fact: this red stuff isn't hemoglobin it's myoglobin. When red meat like beef is cooked, it loses an electron. Oxidation takes into effect which is why it goes brown the more you cook it. As you can see, this wasn't cooked nearly as much as your nearly entirely brown steak," the wolf couldn't help rambling. 

"I always wondered if meat went through a process like oxidation. Science can be very tasty."

"Oh, definitely! One of my favorite things back in college was cooking with chemistry. I did all sorts of experiments dealing with cooking and how stuff changed during various heating processes. And if you don't use any dangerous chemicals, you can eat the experiment later."

"Back in elementary school we had a class where we were learning about what made fruit well, fruit, which was generally seeds. We got to eat bananas and starfruit and strawberries in that class."

"Oh, wow. If we had had classes that did that I probably would have been more engaged." 

Holtzmann wasn't sure if Patty was lying or not but it didn't really matter to her about those small things. Not when they were both lying by omission about what exactly they were. 

Even as they were talking, they were eating without being rude about it. Holtzmann had learned a long time ago how to have a conversation while eating, as a good many werewolf meeting were lunch or dinner meetings.

Holtzmann switched from scarfing down what she could of her steak to scarfing down the fully loaded baked potato. Unlike many people, she actually ate every last part of the potato including the skin. It helped knowing the skin held most of the actual nutrients found in the potato. She idly noticed that Patty was ignoring the potato on her own plate save for picking out the bits of bacon that had been sprinkled on it. 

The waitress came back around once to refill their drinks-- Holtz got a second glass of cider while Patty stuck with her water-- and the second time she came to the table Holtzmann asked for the dessert menu. To be honest, she was splurging quite a bit on the shell company credit card but she knew no one was going to raise a fuss over it given it was all a part of her 'mission' to learn about the New York vampires and whether they were abreast of the situation of a small group of hunters coming from Europe to the United States. She would work a while on the guilt when it was all over. For now it was a matter of survival that she lie and ply Patty with food, drink, and company. She ordered two slices of Oreo cheesecake after conferring with Patty. In all honesty, the werewolf had not a single clue whether vampires could handle lactose. Patty didn't try to talk her way out of dessert even though she had avoided a good portion of the sour cream that had been on her potato.

The dessert came along rather quickly, along with the check which Holtzmann immediately handed over her card for. 

"You know how your phone and computer are connected to an atomic clock?"

"Yeah, baby?"

Holtzmann couldn't help smiling as she took another bite of her cheesecake. 

"Common misconception is it relies on nuclear physics. It's rather based on a further narrowed view of that science, atomic physics. I've tinkered with the idea of making my own. Problem is I want to use Caesium, not rubidium, which is like a hundred times as expensive."

"Isn't caesium something you could buy with that company credit card of yours?" Patty couldn't help teasing. Holtzmann had to laugh at that. 

"The amount I would need would max it out, but I definitely thought about it! Anyways, my watch connects to an atomic clock like computers do. And it tells me we have another half hour or so to kill before I have to head back to my hotel." 

"How long were you concocting that?" 

"Past ten minutes or so." Holtzmann finished the rest of her dessert with a wide grin on her face. Just as she was putting her fork down she was given her card back. She signed the receipt before climbing to her feet then offering her hand to Patty. The taller woman accepted the help with an almost shy smile. 

Together they meandered their way back to Patty's apartment, making further small talk about anything that came to mind, including the night sky that was almost impossible to see properly thanks to the light pollution. 

"Can I see you again? Tomorrow?" Holtzmann asked as they stood on Patty's front porch. 

"I have to work tomorrow."

Holtzmann did her best not to look crushed.

"The day after?"

"I work third shift tomorrow but the afternoon after tomorrow should be fine. I'll call you?" 

"That's _perfect_!" She didn't need to pretend to be happy about it. She smiled before leaning up to press a light kiss to Patty's cheek, a hand brushing along the vampire's bicep. "I will see you then."

"Yes, you will. And thank you for tonight. I really enjoyed it."

"Me, too. I'll do my best to be just as fun day after tomorrow." 

Patty leaned down to kiss the smile on Holtzmann's face, which increased that smile. 

"Good night."

"Good night. Be safe."

"You too."

Holtzmann waited for Patty to go safely back inside before leaving the porch. As she did, she felt a shiver trail down her spine, which made her look around cautiously. She didn't see anything amiss, so she simply brushed the feeling aside as a type of guilt. She had succeeded in her mission for the night: planting the tracker that had been placed in the back of Patty's arm, which Holtzy had used as leverage to kiss the woman good night. By now it had burrowed in without any kind of feeling of pain or similar given how small it was. It was a prototype and she hoped it would work. She would see soon enough. She had her doubts Patty was actually working third shift but tomorrow was a very short time away, she would see soon enough if Patty was telling the truth about that or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those unaware, the part about CERN is true and comes from both a deleted scene and from the novel! Just... different circumstances for this version of Holtz, obviously. 
> 
> And someone might recognize the factoid about burned meat being from my text edits on tumblr, if so I'm flattered and I couldn't help referencing it in this chapter cause it fit super well. No pun intended. The stuff about the seeds in fruit is a personal experience from my time in school. I'm not sure if other people had similar classes? This was in the 90s so haha.
> 
> For those keeping track, vampires do not in actuality have a very sophisticated sense of smell and is in fact why in supernatural creature history, werewolves have been 'used' for that purpose by vampires. What vampires do have that kind of gives the illusion of said sense of smell is heat pits similar to what snakes, vipers in particular, have. Werewolves don't show up much differently on the infrared spectrum as your garden variety human, maybe showing as having a slight 'fever' but nothing further. Some werewolves give off more heat than others but nothing outside of the normal human body heat range.


	4. The Hunter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the wolf and the vamp run into a mutual foe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fight scenes are what I have always been best at. I hope it shows.

Holtzmann arrived back at the brownstone none the worse for wear, though she noticed the looks she got and knew they could smell vampire on her. As if she couldn't smell vampire on herself. But for the first time in half a century, she really didn't care. She wanted to believe this vampire was different. That her overall mission--cooperating with the vampires to come across a beneficial agreement on both sides-- would be successful with Patty's help. If she could get past the fact Holtzann had definitely gone James Bond on her.

The steps to her room seemed to take longer even with everyone giving her a wide berth and thus being out of the way. She was used to minor ostracizing but this was something she had been asked to do, dammit. She didn't deserve any of this. Eventually she did slip inside her room then pulled out her phone. She found the icon to the tracking application she had come up with herself over a single weekend and clicked it to open. It took a whole agonizing minute for it to connect to the 'bug' she had planted on Patty.

As she had hoped and expected, Patty was still where Holtz had dropped her off. But she had needed to check to be sure, and had to make sure the bug was working as intended too. Satisfied her job was done for the night she collapsed back onto her bed. Her conscience was still gnawing at her but she did her best to shush it. She was a werewolf, Patty was a vampire; they were immortal enemies from the get go. But she didn't believe it had to be this way. Not now and definitely not forever. But the other part loyal to pack told her this was to protect the ones she loved, like her mentor, Rebecca Gorin. Telling herself she was doing this for the woman who took her under her wing, metaphorically speaking, eased the guilt a bit.

The next day was a day of practiced self-restraint, as guilt continued to gnaw at her deep in the pit of her stomach despite her best efforts to stifle it when she woke up. If there was one thing she knew how to do, it was track. Which meant doing her best to minimize her natural scent and tracks. She had showered before leaving the brownstone just as third shift was getting on duty and she could see the little dot signifying Patty starting to move towards Seward. She made sure to get off at the stop just after Seward on the line and then walked the way to backtrack back to the correct station.

She stopped right at the top of the stairs leading down into the station, looking like any other 20-something with a phone as she peered down at it. She had no way of knowing if Patty was alone at her booth or not but the crowds were so thin at that time of night she didn't want to chance being seen, if only because it would lead to her looking like a stalker (which she totally was _not_ ; she was a hunter which was entirely different). Though she did have a number of excuses she could make, even though her best one made her seem much too forgetful. Though her secondary excuse would be she had a minor emergency.

Holtzmann looked and watched when Patty's little dot moved and actually held her breath a little, as if afraid maybe Patty knew she was hovering at the entrance to the station and was moving to confront her about it. But eventually the dot gravitated back to where she had to assume Patty's booth was and thus also had to assume she was simply walking the platform to either stretch her legs or to make sure nobody was trying to get on the tracks or spray paint the walls. And eventually Holtz's breathing got back to normal too. 

She made sure to walk around too in an attempt to be less suspicious. She was just returning to her spot near the entrance for a third time in two hours when a whiff of something _bad_ hit her snoot. She recognized it quickly and easily but did her best not to jump or look around. She did however start to turn around, to try to lure whoever it was away from the station. She nearly ran smack dab into a man who outstripped Patty by a foot in height. She jumped that time and let out a little gasp of surprise in order to not give an automatic growl. 

"You're not one of mine, which means you are an unknown third party. And I don't tolerate unknown third parties." The man had a distinctly Russian accent rumbling under an Oxford. But she was more focused on the fact he apparently did not know she was a wolf-- yet. She wasn't relieved in the slightest because there was only one reason for him to be there. 

"The world can use more hunters than vamps, don't you think?" Holtzmann spoke before she could stop herself. Each word burned like acid. Instead of answering, the man actually grabbed her phone from her. 

"Not when other hunters are using proprietary equipment and not sharing their tech with the rest of us."

Panic started rising in her throat. She was a _Runt_ she wasn't built for one-on-one fights with someone so large. So instead she used her natural speed to yank her phone back, spin on a heel, and then sprint down the stairs into the station. She had nowhere else to go and only had to hope Patty was more capable in a fight than Holtz.

The entire time she was chanting 'shit, shit, shit' in her head as she ran, while patting herself on the back for wearing sneakers. She got to the bottom of the stairs just as she was finishing the wipe of any trace of the application from the phone, along with anything that could lead anyone to her pack or Patty's clan in case the hunter managed to get it as she didn't trust having a password on the entire thing would prevent a particularly determined hunter from getting the information. Unlike a normal person, she didn't bother shouting for help. In fact, save for the sound of their running footsteps and their soft pants, hunter and wolf were silent. 

Holtz nearly crashed headlong into a wall as she screeched around a corner. 

"Hey! Yo!" she heard Patty's distinctive shout. Holtzmann should have felt better hearing her, but instead all she could do was feel sick. Her first big mission and she was blowing it and getting Patty into trouble too. 

The hunter snatched the back of Holtz's jacket and flung her into a pillar, knocking her senseless. She was crashing to the ground just as Patty was sprinting from her booth. Through blurred vision she caught sight of Patty's fangs flashing, of her eyes changing to a red almost as deep as the blood in Holtzmann's body currently pumping hard. A hand went to her head, groaning softly. She could feel the same blood leaking from a gash in her forehead. But none of that was important. She carefully climbed back up to her feet just as the hunter was thrown sailing through the air towards the tracks thanks to a well placed punch to his sternum by Patty.

Holtzmann tucked her phone protectively into a pocket before Patty was suddenly standing in front of her. She almost seemed... distracted by the sight of the blood trailing down Holtz's temple. 

"Are you okay?" she asked, fangs gone and eyes completely back to normal. The hunter had landed just a little shy of the subway tracks and had not gotten up. Holtzmann gave what she hoped was an encouraging, comforting smile, a smile that said she was okay. Which she was, head wounds tended to look a lot worse than they really were. She doubted that was why Patty looked like she did, though. But Holtzmann had to believe her cover as just a human on a business trip was still intact. 

"Y-yeah. I just... I'm sorry. Asshole started chasing me up top. I didn't... I couldn't... there was nowhere else to go. I'm sorry," the words spilled out and every single word was actually the truth.

Before Patty could say anything else, Holtz was suddenly moving on pure instinct, reacting before she knew what she was reacting _to_. She was spinning, pushing herself in front of Patty, or rather between her and the hunter who had just managed to get to a knee, even though he had to be suffering broken bones. A muffled _fwoop_ was only heard just as a crossbow bolt punched through her left shoulder, just shy of the major artery near the collarbone. She could only give a surprised 'the hell?' before collapsing backward. She was saved from falling entirely to the floor by Patty catching her around the middle quickly then gently lowering her to the floor. 

"Holtzy! Holtz, stay here." Any other time Holtzmann would have given a smile and made a quip about there being nowhere else to go. But instead she was still trying to process the fact she had just been shot with a _crossbow_ , with a pure wood bolt. If the hunter had known he was going up against not just a vampire but a werewolf, she was sure the bolt would have been coated in silver too. She almost didn't notice as Patty went back into the fray, moving nearly too fast for Holtz to keep up with. Patty moving so fast meant it almost seemed like the hunter was fighting thin air. But Holtz, being a werewolf, had eyes that could track such quick movements. She watched with detached satisfaction as the hunter was flung bodily into the ceiling of the subway station only to drop back down to get literally kicked onto the tracks. 

She had grabbed the bolt in her shoulder and nearly pulled it out when she remembered, vaguely, about how removing such a large object from a bodily wound could make things worse instead of help. So instead she pressed her jacket around the wound, trying to put any pressure that she could. If Holtzmann had not gotten in the way the bolt would have gone straight into Patty's heart, Holtz noticed as she looked down at the bolt. Her shoulder was just at Patty's chest when the woman was slouching down like she had been when talking to Holtz and Holtz had jumped slightly to take the hit instead.

She was left feeling half glad that it was so late but also upset that it was or else maybe they would be getting some kind of outside help. A growl started to burble up in her throat but she stifled it. Instead she pushed herself up against a nearby wall, leaning up against it while keeping as much of her focus as she could on the fight. The hunter had no doubt known his target was in the subway, what he had not counted on was Holtzmann herself being there, clearly. But that meant he was still prepared to fight a vampire. If he were a normal human being at all he would've been out cold by that point, soundly beaten by Patty. Instead he had gotten in a few good punches and had removed a stake from his belt which he held in one hand while the other had a knife that looked to Holtzmann to be made of Damascus steel. It wasn't deadly to either vampire or werewolf but was one of the few metals that could cut their skin and slow healing. The other that Holtzmann knew of was, of course, silver. Damascus steel blades were very slow to dull, and very durable. 

The hunter swung his blade at Patty, which she easily deflected with one arm. The other sent a fist to his jaw, snapping his head back when it connected. But he was still in the running.

Part of Holtz wanted to call in the pack, but that would basically be admitting defeat and admitting she wasn't ready for this kind of mission. After decades of waiting for this chance she refused to let it slip through her fingers just because she had a bolt through her shoulder. She would heal, her cover was still mostly intact, and the hunter had not won. And Patty was _really_ good in a fight. She had tripped up the hunter as Holtz was fighting self pity. 

Since her phone was barely better than entirely blank and useless, she pulled it from her pocket and watched. And watched. Eventually Patty had managed to push the hunter closer to Holtz's spot and had him facing the vampire which meant he was facing away from Holtz. With a grunt, she used her good arm to fling the phone. A very loud _crack!_ reverberated through the air as it crashed into his skull. The force of it and the fact the phone was mostly metal meant he crumpled to the floor at Patty's feet, knocked out cold finally, as he should have been closer to the start of the whole fight. That one action had taken most of Holtzmann's strength that wasn't being devoted to her body's natural healing process, which caused her to slump a little more against the wall.

"What are you?" Holtzmann asked when Patty walked nearer, still trying to cling to the idea of just being a normal human being like the hunter. The woman crouched to get a better look at the bolt still in Holtz's shoulder.

"I could ask you the same question. Why was he chasing you? How are you still lucid after all that blood loss?" Patty returned. She didn't sound angry, but she did sound a little tired. Neither vampires nor werewolves had limitless energy. 

"I..." the words died before they reached anywhere near the tip of the blonde's tongue. Her cover was blown sky high even if Patty didn't seem to know right away what Holtzmann really was. Luckily the head wound combined with the bolt in her shoulder meant she was indeed suffering some pretty heavy blood loss so at least she could use that as an excuse for her delayed response. Not that she had a good reason for why the hunter was chasing her that would be believable without giving out the truth of the matter.

"It doesn't matter. We need to get ya out of here," the vampire finally decided after a brief shake of the head. With that, she gently helped Holtzmann to her feet.

If she didn't know that Patty was right, Holtzmann would have resisted. As it was, she really did need to get out of the subway and as far away from the hunter as possible. Next to that, she had to report back to her pack about this incident. She was about to go and retrieve her cellphone before she started feeling woozy next to remembering there was no point as the phone was damaged beyond repair. Patty's grip on Holtzmann's arm increased just slightly, keeping the woman upright. The blonde tried to look behind her but pain sprang through her head, and nausea boiled up. But neither of them had been attacked again so that was something.

"Come on, baby." Holtzmann couldn't help feeling a little better when Patty called her 'baby'. It meant she still cared, that she didn't hate Holtzmann. The werewolf wondered if the feeling would still be there when Patty found out she was helping a wolf, had gone out with a wolf, had been put into danger by a wolf, had been stalked like prey. One thing at a time, she told herself.

"Come on," Patty intoned again gently, steering the blonde back towards the steps. To Holtzmann's woozy mind it almost seemed like there were twice as many going up as there had been going down. She was dimly aware of the fact she was starting to drip blood from the tip of the bolt sticking out of her chest. Her jacket was definitely ruined. It was only when they finally got to the top of the steps that Holtz started panicking about being taken to a hospital. 

"Patty, I can't... I don't... hospitals aren't a good..." Holtzmann began, looking up at the taller woman. The words were pouring out but no complete sentences were happening. She wasn't sure what the alternative could be, she just knew going to a hospital as a werewolf-- especially a wounded werewolf trying to heal-- would be one of the worst things to happen in the world. Worse than being wounded was being taken to a hospital was her line of thinking. 

"I don't have insurance," she finally lied. Patty fixed her with an incredulous look while still guiding her down the street. Holtzmann wasn't sure which direction they were going, the head wound made it hard for her to recognize where she was even though she had been prowling back and forth for a couple of hours.

"You're a Ph.D holder without insurance?" Patty asked. 

"Getting a Ph.D isn't cheap?" Holtz returned, trying to keep her voice neutral despite the fact the crossbow bolt wound was starting to throb badly. 

"Yea, sure thing. Don't worry, we ain't going to a hospital anyways unless you have a good way of explaining that wound of yours and why you ain't passed out by now." 

Holtzmann's blood ran cold. Patty had to know.

It was then that she realized there was a scent of decay. She looked down to see a slash in Party's forearm, the one that wasn't currently half carrying her. She almost said something but the world titled sharply like a boat about to capsize. 

"Actually, I think I am about to pass--" Holtzmann managed to get out before the world went black and she was left defenseless in the company of a vampire who was also wounded. The last thing she heard was Patty saying her name in genuine concern.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had intended on finishing this whole thing by Halloween but that's okay. I hope to have the next chapter done sooner than this one was. I try not to leave cliffhangers for too long. In the interim I am always accepting drabble prompts on my tumblr @jacensolodjo!


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